It gives you a peek at your top card and lets you play lands or bird spells directly from there, which keeps your hand flowing even when youre topdecking
All three make him an excellent choice for any kind of land-based deck
There are very powerful cards with convoke like Knight-Errant of Eos to fetch more creatures, and blue card draw ones like Meeting of Minds to support the archetype
While the echo cost is rarely paid, it can stick around to block for a turn cycle in Commander, and offers one of the more efficient and repeatable graveyard recursion options in white without going into black
Birds of Paradise Birds of Paradises first printing in Limited Edition Alpha was the start of many reprints over Magics 30 years of rich history
Basically, this card has it all: an epic background, exclusive status, limited print, tournament prestige and a price tag to match